French Orientalism in Reynaldo Hahn's Series "Orient" from Le Rossignol Eperdu

Transcription

1 University of Miami Scholarly Repository Open Access Dissertations Electronic Theses and Dissertations French Orientalism in Reynaldo Hahn's Series "Orient" from Le Rossignol Eperdu Norito Irei University of Miami, Follow this and additional works at: Recommended Citation Irei, Norito, "French Orientalism in Reynaldo Hahn's Series "Orient" from Le Rossignol Eperdu" (2012). Open Access Dissertations This Open access is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at Scholarly Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Repository. For more information, please contact

2 UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI FRENCH ORIENTALISM IN REYNALDO HAHN S SÉRIE ORIENT FROM LE ROSSIGNOL ÉPERDU By Norito Irei A DOCTORAL ESSAY Submitted to the Faculty of the University of Miami in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts Coral Gables, Florida May 2012

3 2012 Norito Irei All Rights Reserved

4 UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI A doctoral essay submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts FRENCH ORIENTALISM IN REYNALDO HAHN S SÉRIE ORIENT FROM LE ROSSIGNOL ÉPERDU Norito Irei Approved: Tian Ying, M.Mus.A. Associate Professor of Keyboard Performance Terri A. Scandura, Ph.D. Dean of the Graduate School J. Robert Floyd, D.M. Naoko Takao, D.M.A. Professor of Keyboard Performance Assistant Professor of Keyboard Performance and Pedagogy Frank E. Cooper, M.M. Research Professor, Musicology

5 IREI, NORITO (D.M.A., Piano Performance) French Orientalism in Reynaldo Hahn s (May 2012) Séries Orient from Le Rossignol Éperdu Abstract of a doctoral essay at the University of Miami. Doctoral essay supervised by Professor Tian Ying. No. of pages in text. (80) Reynaldo Hahn, a Venezuelan-born French composer, is growing in popularity for his vocal repertoires in the American academia. His piano works have been practically unknown on this continent until the late American pianist Earl Wild recorded a series of his piano works, Le Rossignol Éperdu, containing 53 solo piano compositions. Le Rossignol Eperdu is divided into four series, and the second suite entitled Orient drew particular attention from disc reviewers. Currently, there is no publication or dissertation written about Reynaldo Hahn s solo piano compositions in English, which limits accessibility to Reynaldo Hahn s piano music. The purpose of this research is to promote understanding of the highlighted piano pieces by Hahn, Orient from Le Rossignol Éperdu, by tracing the history of French Orientalism in music and by providing compositional analysis of each piece in his Orient series. I would like to add that my study of Orientalism in this essay is purely for academic purpose, and, by no means do I support the French imperialism in the past. This essay is not political, and it is meant to further both musical and aesthetic understanding of the selected piano pieces.

6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge several people who have assisted me throughout the essay process. First and foremost, I would like to thank Professor Tian Ying for his support in my piano study. My pianistic development could not have been achieved without his teaching. I would also like to thank Professor Frank Cooper for sharing his expertise in musicology. He helped me discover the traditional European artistic concept of Orientalism, which I have adored before even knowing what it was called. My gratitude also goes to Professor J. B. Floyd for sharing the most current trends in music through his seminar, and to Dr. Naoko Takao for giving me her constructive feedback on my thesis. I also would like to take this opportunity to express my personal appreciation for Piano Teaching Assistants whom I met during my study at University of Miami Frost School of Music for motivating me to further my academic and musical journey. Gallica Bibliothèque Numérique and musicologist Jean-Christoph Etienne have assisted me greatly in helping me obtain the information that is not available in the United States. And last but not least, I would like to express my gratitude to the late pianist Earl Wild for inspiring me to explore and study the Orient series of Reynaldo Hahn Le Rossignol Éperdu. My wish is to carry on his legacy for generations to come. iii

7 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF EXAMPLES... LIST OF TABLES... vi ix Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION... 1 Limitation of Study... 3 Importance of Study... 4 Literature Review of Study Methodology. 8 2 HISTORY OF ORIENTALISM IN MUSIC Orientalism as Representation Orientalism as Musical Gestures ORIENTALISM AS REPRESENTED IN THE SELECTED PIANO WORKS BY CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS ORIENTALISM AS REPRESENTED IN THE SELECTED PIANO WORKS BY CLAUDE DEBUSSY Debussy s Exposure to the Oriental Cultures Adapting the Gamelan Sound on Piano Influence from Indian Music Miscellaneous Influence from the Oriental Arts Debussy s use of Double Harmonic Scale REYNALDO HAHN, HIS FAMILY AND HIS CAREER Salon Culture and Belle-Époque ANALYSIS ON REYNALDO HAHN S ORIENT SERIES (FROM LE ROSSIGNOL ÉPERDU) Hahn s Exposure to Oriental Cultures Analysis of Oriental gestures in Hahn s Séries 2: Orient En Caïque iv

8 32. Narghilé Les Chiens de Galata (Efft de nuit sur la Corne d Or) Rêverie nocturne sur le Bosphore La Rose de Blida (Ouarda) L Oasis CONCLUSION AND CONSIDERATION IN PROGRAMMING HAHN S ORIENT SERIES IN A PIANO RECITAL SETTING BIBLIOGRAPHY v

9 LIST OF EXAMPLES Page 1.1 Rhythmic Pattern for Orchestra in Saëns, Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major, Op. 103, mvt 2, mm Saint-Saëns, Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major, Op. 103, mvt 2, mm Saint-Saëns, Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major, Op. 103, mvt 2, mm Saint-Saëns, Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major, Op. 103, mvt 2, mm Saint-Saëns, Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major, Op. 103, mvt 2, mm Saint-Saëns, Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major, Op. 103, mvt 2, mm Saint-Saëns, Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major, Op. 103, mvt 2, m Saint-Saëns, Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major, Op. 103, mvt 2, m Saint-Saëns, Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major, Op. 103, mvt 2, mm Reduction of Saint-Saëns, Piano Concerto No. 5. Op. 103, mvt 2, mm Arabic Scale (Above) vs. Spanish Gypsy Scale (Below) Spanish Gypsy Scale in G-Tonality Saint-Saëns, Africa, Fantasy for P iano and Orchestra,Op. 89, Principal Motive of the A-section from Orchestral Reduction Saint-Saëns, Africa, Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra,Op. 89, m Lydian Scale (Above) vs. Whole Tone Scale (Below) in C-Tonality Saint-Saëns, Caprice Arabe for Two Pianos, Op. 96, mm Slendro (Above) and Pelog (below) scales (approximate pitches) Debussy, Pagodes (from Estampes), mm Debussy, Pagodes (from Estampes), mm vi

10 2.4 Debussy, Pagodes (from Estampes), mm Debussy, Pagodes (from Estampes), mm Debussy, Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut (from Images 2), mm Debussy, Des pas sur la neige (from Prélude I), mm Debussy, Reflets dan l eau (from Images 1), mm Debussy, Sérénade interrompue (from Prélude 1), mm Hahn, En Caquï, mm. 1-3, Ostinato Figure Hahn, Narghilé, D Doriant impression with A-minor tonality, mm Hahn, Narghilé, mm Hahn, Narghilé, mm Hahn, Narghilé, occidentalement m Hahn, Les Chiens de Galata, Two-measure Phrase, mm Hahn, Les Chiens de Galata, Two-measure Phrase, mm Hahn, Les Chiens de Galata, Mixolydian usage, mm Hahn, Les Chiens de Galata, Arabic Scale and Tritone Link mm Hahn, Les Chiens de Galata, m Hahn, Rêverie nocturne sur le Bosphore, mm Hahn, Rêverie nocturne sur le Bosphore, mm Hahn, La Rose de Blida (Ouarda), mm Hahn, Motive from La Rose de Blida (Ouarda), trans. in 5/4 meter, mm Hahn, La Rose de Blida (Ouarda), texture inversion in Section A, m Hahn, La Rose de Blida (Ouarda), textural inversion in Section B, m Hahn, La Rose de Blida (Ouarda), mm vii

11 3.18 Hahn, La Rose de Blida (Ouarda), Selected Parts, mm Hahn, L Oasis, mm Hahn, L Oasis, mm Hahn, L Oasis, mm viii

12 LIST OF FIGURES 4-1 Chronology of Reynaldo Hahn s Solo Piano Compositions Index of Rossignol éperdu, poèmes Structural Outline of En Caquï ix

13 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Reynaldo Hahn ( ) was a Venezuelan-born, naturalized French composer whose vocal works have recently gained interest and recognition in American universities, yet his piano works were virtually unknown until 2001, when American pianist Earl Wild released a recording of Hahn s fifty-three solo piano pieces collectively entitled Le Rossignol Éperdu. The pieces in Le Rossignol Éperdu were written between 1902 and 1910, and are organized into four suites with each given a programmatic title except the first. 1 Wild s recording was the first to include all four suites, and the second suite, entitled Orient, particularly drew special attention from disc reviewers. BBC Music Magazine lauded,.six pieces devoted to the Orient, with their exotic reflections of Debussy and Satie, are perhaps the most remarkable and International Record Review described the Orient suite as..the shortest but the most experimental. 2 Hahn s Orient suite is intrinsically tied into the cultural phenomenon of Orientalism that has a long tradition in the history of Western music. 1 Patrick O Connor, Hahn, Reynaldo, In Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, (accessed December 4, 2009); Ivory Classics, Earl Wild: Reynaldo Hahn Le Rossignol Éperdu Ivory Classics Website, (accessed December 3, 2009) 2 Max Loppert, review of Reynaldo Hahn: Le Rossignol Éperdu (CD) by Earl Wild (piano), BBC Music Magazine (July 2002), quoted in Ivory Classics Website, (accessed December 3, 2009); review of Reynaldo Hahn: Le Rossignol Éperdu (CD) by Earl Wild (piano), International Record Review, (December 2001) quoted in Ivory Classics Website, (accessed December 3, 2009). 1

14 2 Some Western composers have always looked to the East for musical and dramatic inspiration as early as the seventeenth century, and the trend peaked in the twentieth century. 3 Particularly in France, Orientalism played an important role during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when it was used as a vehicle to form a new musical identity in reaction to the prevailing Wagnerian influence. 4 The catalytic event of Paris Exposition Universelle in 1889, combined with French artists pre-existing affinity to the Orient, led these prominent French composers to seek new French styles by incorporating Oriental themes or styles in their compositions. 5 Hahn s piano suite Orient exemplifies as a product of this Orientalism phenomenon. The objective of my essay is, in homage to Earl Wild, to introduce Reynaldo Hahn s piano series Orient to a wider audience by placing the work in a historical context, particularly focusing on the prevalence of Orientalism in fin-de-siècle France. This essay will include a historical overview of Orientalism in music, various musical styles that connote Orientalism within the context of Western music, compositional analyses on selected examples of Oriental styles in the music of Saint-Saëns and Debussy as proponents of this musical trend from Romantic and modern eras, a literary analysis on Hahn s aesthetic views and a detailed theoretical analysis of his Orient series. 3 John M. MacKenzie, Orientalism: History, theory and the arts, (New York: St. Martin s Press,1995), Ibid., Ibid., 157-8; Barrymore L. Sherer, Song of the Orient, Met Opera Family Website (accessed November 23, 2009)

15 3 Limitation of Study In analyzing the Oriental styles in specific compositions, I will limit my investigation to piano music. Many Oriental styles in these compositions are gesturebased, and while piano is a highly adaptable instrument, there are certain gestures, such as slides on string instruments, that are not quite possible to do on piano. When it comes to better understanding Hahn s Oriental styles, I will limit my comparison to Saint-Saëns and Debussy for two reasons. One is for the sake of universal acceptance. Many of Saint-Saëns and Debussy s works have already been analyzed and the presence of Oriental style has been validated in academic literatures. 6 Although drawing comparisons to works by lesser known composers certainly holds value of its own, it does not serve my present purpose of popularizing Hahn s music to a wider audience. 7 Another limitation to be placed, in regards to analyzing Hahn s music, is disregarding other possible influences aside from Orientalism. At the turn of the twentieth century, too many cultural -isms emerged (e.g. Symbolism and Impressionism), and including other philosophies strayed from the primary topic of my research at hand. 8 6 MacKenzie , Sherer. 7 Jean-Christopher Etienne, the French musicologist and theorist specializing in Reynaldo Hahn s musical works, makes an argument paralleling Hahn s musical gestures to a lesser popular French impressionist composer Gabriel Dupont, 7 yet drawing such comparisons will thus defeat my intention of popularizing Hahn s music to wider audience. 8 Since rising popularity of Orientalism is in fin-de-siécle France was a phenomenon within the French musical culture of the time, (e.g. a reaction against the prevailing Wagnerian influence on European musical scene), the Orientalism should be viewed as part of the French nationalistic movement in music. Including other isms would be conflicting from my research interest, and therefore, not included in my essay. This nationalistic trend in France will be the reason why I only picked two French composers, Saint- Saëns and Debussy, and their piano works as points of comparison to Hahn and his piano pieces.

16 4 Importance of Study Previously written studies have only focused on Hahn s biography and his vocal music in general. There are nine doctoral-level papers regarding Reynaldo Hahn and his vocal works available via Digital Dissertation Online, yet none of them casts any light into his instrumental music, and attention to his piano music is non-existent. 9 This essay is the first step in introducing Reynaldo Hahn s piano works in particular, analysis of which is long overdue and most deserving of attention. believe the rising popularity of Orientalism in fin-de-siécle France should be viewed as part of the French nationalistic movement in music because the cause of this phenomenon is partially rooted in the reaction against the prevailing Wagnerian influence on European musical scene. 9 Debra Lea Spurgen. A Study of Solo Vocal Works of Reynaldo Hahn with Analysis of Selected Melodies (D.M.A. thesis, University of Oklahoma, 1990); Linda Cuneo-Laurent, The Performer As Catalyst: The Role of Singer Janet Bathori ( ) in the Careers of Debussy, Ravel, Les Six and Their Contemporaries in Paris, (PhD diss., New York University, 1982); Thea T. Engelson, The Melodies of Reynaldo Hahn (Ph.D. diss., University of Iowa, 2006); Kil-Won Kim, A Detailed Study of Reynaldo Hahn s Setting of Poetry of Paul Verlaine (D.M.A. thesis, University of Oklahoma, 1995); Renee A. Kingcaid, A Hothouse of Orchids: Proust s Les Plasirs thesis Les Jours (PhD diss., Ohio State University, 1982); Linda A. Haslach, Entre nous: Vocal music from the salon of Winnaretta Singer, the Princesse Edmond de Polignac (D.M.A. thesis, University of Maryland College Park, 1999); Peggy Ann Lockman, Joseph H. Benton, Oklahoma Pioneer and International Opera Singer: Part I. A Compendium of His Life. Part II. A Comparative Study of His Vocal Teaching Philosophy (D.M.A. thesis, University of Oklahoma, 1995).

17 5 Literature Review As my research encompasses several different focal points, I reviewed literature in three categories: Orientalism, Claude Debussy s Orientalism and Reynaldo Hahn s Orientalism. 1. Orientalism Several books discussing Orientalism have been published. Edward Said s Orientalism analyzes the term Orientalism from political and historical perspectives. 10 This argument regarding Orientalism in music is further discussed in the field of music in Derek Scott s Orientalism and Musical Styles, where the author summarizes commonly used techniques to mimic the Oriental sounds on Western musical instruments. 11 Musicologist Ralph P. Locke, in his Musical Exoticism, took the Oriental argument in music to another level, summarizing the maneuver that Western composers incorporated to evoke Orient into three different processes, which is to be further discussed in the first chapter of this essay. 12 MacKenzie s Orientalism: History, Theory and the Arts includes the author s response to Said s two books, Orientalism and Culture and Imperialism, but the value of his work is in contextualizing Orientalism in wider cultural context, including not only music, but other disciplines such as visual arts and design. Although his writing is quite comprehensive in its coverage of the list of musical compositions incorporating the 10 Said s discussion on Orientalism is in general and not about music. The book conveys the point that the Western view is colored by its own perception of the Orient, and that Orientalism is to continue incorporating more biased concepts from the Western past instead of representing the cultures to be classified under one. I do not believe that this political view does not apply to music, and therefore, his book is not included in my research. 11 Derek B. Scott, Orientalism and Musical Styles, Musical Quarterly 82, no. 2 (1998): Ralph P. Lock, Musical Exoticism (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009).

18 6 oriental themes, it stops short of discussing the musical features that represent Orientalism. 13 For this study, I will refer to MacKenzie s work for outlining, while Scott s article will be used to define Orientalism as a musical style. 2. French Orientalism by Camille Saint-Saëns and Claude Debussy English musicologist Roy Howat wrote a chapter entitled Debussy and the Orient in his 2009 publication of The Art of French Music. The chapter encompasses Debussy s direct musical influences from Javanese and Indian music in addition to philosophical influences from the East. 14 More focused studies on Debussy s gamelan influences have been discussed extensively in Kiyoshi Tamagawa s D.M.A. essay Echoes from the East: the Javanese Gamelan and Its Influence on the Music of Claude Debussy. The author evaluates the presence of exotic elements in all of Debussy s piano pieces and several major orchestral pieces, and he is quite comprehensive in providing both basic theoretical analyses and musicological context. 15 A similar but more concise study than that of Tamagawa is found in Brent Hugh s notes from his lecture recital. Hugh focuses more on finding gamelan elements directly in the composition and demonstrates the phenomenon by using musical excerpts, which I 13 MacKenzie, 1-39, Roy Howat, The Art of French Music: Debussy, Ravel, Fauré, Chabrier (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), Kiyoshi Tamagawa, Echoes from the East: the Javanese Gamelan and Its Influence on the Music of Claude Debussy (D.M.A. thesis, University of Texas, Austin, 1988).

19 7 find helpful in encouraging visual and intuitive understanding of Debussy s compositional procedures in creating the atmosphere reflective of the Orient Reynaldo Hahn and His Compositions Aside from dissertations, there is no extensive writing about Reynaldo Hahn available in English. There are many mentions of his name in several biographies of Marcel Proust, including The Translation of Memories: Recollection of the Young Proust by P.F. Prestwich, Monsieur Proust by Céleste Albaret and Marcel Proust and Spanish America by Herbert Craig 17 although the information in these books is too fragmented to have a complete picture of Reynaldo Hahn as a person. Several biographies of Reynaldo Hahn are available in French and Spanish. The oldest source on Hahn is Reynaldo Hahn: su vida y su obra (1979) by Daniel Bendáhan. As the title suggests, Bendáhan provides a genealogical research on Hahn s family, an overview of Reynaldo Hahn s life in a chronological manner and a list of his compositions. Reynaldo Hahn, Caraqueño: Contribución a la biografía caraqueña de Reynaldo Hahn Echenagucia (1989), written by Mario Milanca-Guzmán, was written in 16 Brent Hugh, Claude Debussy and the Javanese Gamelan, Brent Hugh Website, (accessed October 23, 2009). 17 Marie Nordlinger, The Translation of Memories: Recollections of Young Proust, trans. by P.F. Prestwich (London: Peter Owen Publication, 1999); Céleste Albaret, Monsieur Proust, trans. Georges Belmont (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976); Herbert Craig, Marcel Proust and Spanish America (London: Bucknell University Press, 2008): 1-18.

20 8 critical response to Bendáhan, questioning the legitimacy of data and facts provided by Bendáhan. 18 While the aforementioned two Spanish books are fact-based and more chronicle in nature, the French biography Reynaldo Hahn, le musicien de la Belle-Époque by Bernard Gavoty provides more personal information on the composer, including his aesthetics, his musical studies, his view of religions, love, humor, and fellow composers. None of the aforementioned biographies of Reynaldo Hahn contain any reference to his influence directly from the Orient; therefore, one could assume that his Orientalism was influenced by the trend of the time. Therefore, finding Oriental elements through compositional analysis will be the only way to understand Reynaldo Hahn s Orientalism. A brief theoretical analysis of the majority of Hahn s works has been done by French musicologist Jean-Christopher Etienne on his website Reynaldo-Hahn Net. 19 I have received the permission from the author to translate and use his analysis on Hahn s Orient suite in my essay. 20 Methodology The essay will continue with the Second Chapter that provides an overview of Orientalism in a musicological context. Due to the perceptive nature of Orientalism that calls for time-sensitivity, the chapter will focus on how its compositional procedures have 18 Mario Milanca-Guzmán, Reynaldo Hahn, Caraqueño: Contribución a la biografía caraqueña de Reynaldo Hahn Echenagucia (Caracas: Academia Nacional de Historia, 1989); Daniel Bendáhan, Reynaldo Hahn: su vida y su obra (Caracas: Monte Avila Editores, 1979). 7, Jean-Christopher Etienne, message regarding authorship of Reynaldo-hahn.net, December 20 Ibid., Analyse de l œvre pour piano: Poèmes et Carnet de Voyage Reynaldo Hahn Website 2001,, (accessed November 25, 2009)

21 9 changed. The chapter will also include Orientalism theories by Ralph L. Locke, providing procedures on how to analyze Hahn s Orient series from Le Rossignol Éperdu. The Third Chapter serves to define French Orientalism in the Romantic era as exemplified by selected Saint-Saëns piano works. Piano works will include the second movement of Piano Concerto No. 5 by Camille Saint-Saëns, focusing on analyzing Orientalism that is more based on Middle East and North Africa, a type of Orientalism that was more prominent in French Romantic composers. The Fourth chapter will provide a summary of English musicologist Roy Howat s discussion regarding Debussy s compositional approach to Orientalism, focusing on detailed analysis on his innovative adaptations. The Fifth Chapter will cover a biographical sketch of Reynaldo Hahn. The chapter will be designed to familiarize readers with the composer, and to include his career as performer, composer and music critic. The purpose of this chapter is to make a coherent biography of Hahn in English by synthesizing his biography in Spanish and French, including Reynaldo Hahn: su vida y su obra by Daniel Bendáhan, Reynaldo Hahn, caraqueño by Mario Milanca-Guzmán, Reynaldo Hahn, le musicien de la Belle-Époque by Bernard Gavoty. In addition to Hahn s career as musician, composer and critic, the composer s direct or indirect experience with Oriental music by Western composers will be examined. In the Sixth Chapter, I will conduct an analysis on the six piano pieces of the Orient suite from Le Rossignol Éperdu: 53 poèms pour piano by Reynaldo Hahn. I will incorporate analyses regarding each of the six pieces as outlined in Reynaldo Hahn s website under Analyse de l oeuvre pour piano: Poèmes et Carnet de Voyage by Jean-

22 10 Christopher Etienne. 21 In addition to Etienne s analyses that are given on the website, I will conduct an additional analysis myself. The additional analysis will focus on finding and pointing out the Oriental to be discussed, including thematic investigations, direction of the melodies, scale degrees and other elements that may concern Orientalism. The final chapter, Chapter Seven, will be the summary of my findings, including the differences in approaches to Orientalism by Hahn and other composers. The discussion will include programming of this series in the recital setting, and personal comparisons between other French piano pieces. 21 Jean-Christophe Etienne, Analyse de l œvre pour piano: Poèmes et Carnet de Voyage Reynaldo Hahn Website 2001, (accessed November 25, 2009)

23 Chapter 2 HISTORY OF ORIENTALISM IN MUSIC Grove Music Dictionary defines Orientalism as followed: In its strict sense, [Orientalism is] dialects of musical exoticism within Western art music that evokes the East or the Orient. In a broader sense, it specifies the attitude toward those same geocultural regions as expressed in certain musical works, regardless of whether a given work evokes the music of the region or not. The [o]rient in the term orientalism is generally taken to mean either the Islamic Middle East (e.g. North Africa, Turkey, Arabia, Persia), or East and South Asia (the Far East, e.g. India, Indochina, China, Japan), or all of these together The strict definition and broad definition of orientalism, mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph, correlate with two paradigms one primarily style-focused, the other more comprehensive for studying any exotic musical work. 22 The primary purpose of this chapter is to outline the Orientalist phenomenon in the musicological context and to distinguish different approaches of Orientalism. This chapter is divided into sub-chapters with contents covering progression of Orientalism and several compositional techniques in Orientalism. The first part of this chapter will focus on historical context of Orientalism in the Western music. The second part of this chapter will examine more specific musical techniques used to evoke the imaginary Orient. 22 Ralph P. Locke. "Orientalism." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, (accessed July 14, 2010).; 11

24 12 Orientalism as Representation The earliest Oriental representation in Western music was found in the late Renaissance, when a dance called the Moresca, whose origin is considered to be the Moors of North Africa, was included in French ballets de cour and Venetian intermidi 23. Any portrayal of the Orient was not much found between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries because the climate of the West was against the influence of other cultures, as reflected on the political actions of the Crusades. 24 The representation of the Orient began to surface more in operas of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as the Enlightenment movement in France gained its ground and stimulated learning of the non-occidental cultures. 25 The popular geographic regions that were set to set to operas of this period include Turkey, Persia, India and China. The eighteenth-centuries operas whose titles are indicative of Oriental inclusions are Les Indes galantes [The Romantic Indies] by Philip Rameau, Le Cinesi [the Chinese Women] and Le Cadi dupe [The Duped Qadi] by Christopher Gluck, Entführung aus dem Serail [The Abduction from the Seraglio] by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and La Caravane du Caire [The Traveler from Cairo] by André Ernest Modeste Grétry. 26 In the instrumental music of the eighteenth century, an attempt to incorporate the Oriental elements was based on the imitation of gestures. The examples could be seen in the imitation of Turkish music, which was exotic enough to be considered Oriental in the Europeans 23 Ibid. 24 Janós Kárpáti, Non-European Influences on Occidental Music (a Historical Survey), World of Music, 22, no. 2 (1980), Ibid, Kárpáti, 23.

25 13 eyes, and reflected on the finales of the Violin Concerto K. 219 and the Piano Sonata in A major, K. 311 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Despite of the composer s intention, the musical content of these works have little effect in evoking the Orient to today s audience. 27 In the nineteenth century, due to French occupation of Algeria in 1830, there was a rising interest in North Africa, and French composers actively incorporated subjects and themes that were perceived to be from the Maghreb region. 28 At the same time, an operatic portrayal of Oriental images underwent transformation in the nineteenth century. The image of the Orient, which maintained its presence within a comedic role for eighteenth-century operas, began to surface in romantic grand operas by the second half of the nineteenth century. This change of trend reflects on the general sentiments of the two centuries; the rationalism of the eighteenth century takes importance in the contrast between Europe and the Orient, while the Romantic notion of the nineteenth century focuses on the sentiment toward the mysteriousness of the Orient, not the differences between the two worlds. Operas from the nineteenth-century that contain Oriental materials include Le Caïd [Ruler of Algeria] by Ambroise Thomas, Reine de Saba [Queen of Sheba] by Charles Gounod, L Africaine by Meyerbeer. 29 The foremost French composer who attempted the incorporation of Eastern musical characteristics in the 19 th century was Félicien David ( ). David s affiliation with the political group Saint-Simonianism took him on a missionary trip with 27 Kiyoshi Tamagawa, Echoes from the East: the Javanese Gamelan and Its Influence on the Music of Claude Debussy (D.M.A. thesis, University of Texas, Austin, 1988), 2 28 Daniel Pistone, Les conditions historiques de l exotisme musical française, Revue Internationale de Musique Française, no. 6 (Nov. 1981): Kárpáti,

26 14 a small group of friends to Constantinople, Smyrna, Jaffa, Jerusalem and Egypt. During his voyage, the composer was fully inspired by the customs, religions and landscapes of the countries he visited. Upon the completion of the missionary trip, he stayed in Cairo for two extra years, made a living by teaching piano and explored around the desert. He eventually returned to Paris, and published Mélodie orientales pour piano in 1836 with his own expense. Its preface by the composer claims that the melodies in Mélodies orientales are genuinely of the Orient in his mind, and he supplied them with harmonies to be more accessible to European ears. Mélodies orientales received little attention from the public, but his symphonic ode Le désert, which premiered on December 8 th, 1844, became a success. Evocations of the Orient in Le desert contains actual muezzin (a call to prayer in a mosque) for each of three movements, and the dance movement included both Egyptian and Syrian melodies. 30 Orientalism as Musical Gestures Several changes are observed toward the end of the nineteenth century. According to the linguistic survey in France, the word Orient in French language in the late nineteenth century was used to indicate the Far-East region more often than the Islamic Middle East. 31 With a growing popularity of tourism and a gradual improvement of the photographic reproductions, the Europeans were better informed with the reality of the Islamic Middle East, which was far more Westernized than they had initially imagined. 30 Hugh Macdonald and Ralph P. Locke. "David, Félicien." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, (accessed July 13, 2010). 31 Geneviève Balardelle, L Exotisme Extrême-Oriental en France au tournant du siècle Revue internationale de musique française, no. 6 (Nov. 1981), 67.

27 15 In consequence, Islamic Middle East gradually lost its mysterious quality in the eyes of Europeans, and the Europeans, especially the artists, lost their interest in the regions as exotic locales. 32 Coupled with the aforementioned changes in social issues, new approaches of exoticism have emerged to further the artistic endeavors. The continuing practice of exoticism prior to Symbolist era was what Locke coined as Overt Exoticism, which involves a way of portraying, mimicking, or sometimes exaggerating unfamiliar places and peoples. Serious composers from the turn of the twentieth-century disdained a use of Overt Exoticism as it was overused in the music from the past decades and no longer possessed the impact that it once had. 33 In addition, revolutionary movements in literature and visual-arts communities became a catalyst for musical community to steer away from the conventions and crave for new artistic outputs, which resulted in intensifying one s subjectivity to another level. This resulted in Submerged Exoticism, which Locke defined as, incorporating distinctive scales, harmonies, orchestral colors and other features that had previously associated with exotic realms. 34 Locke lists characteristics of Submerged Exoticism as followed; (1) the arabesque melodic figures (2) unusual scales especially whote-tone and octatonic and their specific harmonies. 35 Submerged Exoticism itself is not necessarily the Orientalism as it represents simply composer s dream world in program music (e.g. Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun by 32 Ibid, Ralph P. Locke, Musical Exoticism: Images and Reflections. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011), Ibid, Ibid. 217.

28 16 Debussy), or it could represent non-western regions that are not the Grove-dictionary definition of the Oriental region (e.g. The Rite of Spring: Pictures of Pegan Russia by Stravinsky). An exoticism that transcends the Submerged Exoticism is Transcultural Composing, which Locke defined as the practice of composing for Western contexts for example, a piano recital or a wind-ensemble concert - a work that incorporates certain stylistic and formal conventions of another culture s music, often a music that has a quite different context. 36 Transcultural Composing is a mixture of three elements: Overt Exoticism, Submerged Exoticism and the direct experience of the music of other traditions. In other words, in order for composition to be recognized as transculturally composed it needs to encompass compositional procedures of Submerged Exoticism. Locke consider Pagodes (from Estampes) by Debussy to be a product of Transcultural Composing because it was inspired by Debussy s memory of gamelan performances in the various Southeast Asian pavilions in the 1889 World s Fair, and uses compositional procedures that are outlined in the Submerged Exoticism, including pentatonic scales, the pentatonic hybrid scales and rhythmic figures that are more impressions than melodic. To clarify discussion on Orientalism in music of Reynaldo Hahn s Rossignol Éperdu, the concept of Orientalism will be investigated by the followings three aspects; (1) Representation of the Orient each of the six pieces in the Series Deux Orient has a programmatic title. The significance of each title, particularly in its correlations to the Oriental cultures, will be examined. (2) Compositional Procedures that evoke exoticism once the title is confirmed with its relation to the Orient, I will then investigate the presence of exotic materials in 36 Ibid., 228.

29 17 the compositional contents. This will include identification of the exotic scales (whole-tone, octatonic, pentatonic), arabesque-figures, and less-conventional tonal harmonies. (3) Hahn s Direct Transcultural Experience Investigation of Hahn s life and recognition of his direct experience to the live performance of the Orient.

30 Chapter 3 ORIENTALISM AS REPRESENTED IN THE SELECTED PIANO WORKS OF CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS In today s American society, it is less conventional to connect the term Orientalism with regions such as North Africa and the Middle East 37, although such Orientalism was more prominent in France during the Romantic period until the end of 19th Century. 38 This chapter reiterates the phenomenon of French Orientalism that connotes the Middle East and Africa through surveying selected piano music by a French Romantic composer, Camille Saint-Saëns. 39 Camille Saint-Saëns works, however, are more accessible in the U.S. One of his oriental works that have been performed United States is his Fifth Piano Concerto (1896), nicknamed The Egyptian. 40 Although Saint-Saëns is known to be the most conservative of the Orientalist composers of the French school, 41 in his time, his second movement includes clear representations of Oriental elements. 37 Tian Ying, interviewed by author, Coral Gables, Fl, April 14, Locke, According to Locke s account, Félicien-César David ( ) is known to be the first French composer to incorporate melodies of North African and Middle East directly into his self-published piano works, Brises d Orient and Mélodies orientales. However, the scores to his music are not available anywhere in the United States for further analysis. 40 Barbara Heninger, Program Note: Saint-Säens Piano Concerto No. 5, Redwoods Symphony Orchestra Website, (accessed April 14, 2011); Hugh Wolff, conductor, Stephen Hough, pianist, Piano Concerto in F major, Op. 103 ( Egyptian ) by Camille Saint-Säen, the Kennedy Center, Washington D.C., April 24-24, Locke,

31 19 The second movement of the Egpytian concerto is in a three-section rhapsodic form. The first section starts with a rhythmic orchestral accompaniment, utilizing horizontal hemiola with alternating duplets and triplets. Example 1.1 The Rhythmic Pattern for Orchestral in Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 5, Op. 103, mvt 2, mm.1-12 This rhythmic figure could be interpreted as a reflection of the composer s excitement during a boat trip on Nile River. 42 The orchestra continues the same rhythmic figure for four measures and the piano makes an entry at the second beat of m. 5. The piano starts out with a forceful unison A-pitch in both hands, preceded by an ascending three-and-a-half octave pattern that combines the lower half of the A Double Harmonic (or Arabic ) scale 43 and the upper half of the natural minor scale. This rising A-tonality scale (Example 1.2) represents an undulating movement of a steamboat going down the Nile River Seng Wong Yoos, an author of a dissertation Camile Saint-Saëns Piano Concert No. 5 in F- Major, Op. 103: An Analytical Study of Form, Composition Techniques and a Performance Perspective, confirms Saint-Saëns s visits to Egypt in 1891 and The composer went onto a boat trip on Nile River in one of his visits, and composed the aforementioned concerto in Egypt for his second visit in In this D.M.A. essay, I decided to place quotation mark for the word Arabic when it refers to Double Harmonic Major scales to show that it is within the Western notation of the Arabic scale, which may be different from the actual pitches used by performers of Arabic music. 44 Seung Woo Yoo, Camille Saint-Säens Piano Concerto No. 5 in F-Major, Op 103: An Analytical Study of Form, Compositional Techniques, and a Performance Perspective, (DMA thesis, University of North Texas, 2004), 8.

32 20 Example 1.2 Saint-Saëns, Piano Concert No. 5, Op. 103, mvt 2, mm. 5-6 In contrast to the valiant first section (m. 1-62), the second section (m ) is calmer and sweeter. This section is inspired by a Nubian love song that Saint-Saëns heard while he was on a similar boat trip on the Nile River in Egypt Seung Woo Yoo, 7-8.

33 21 Example 1.3. Saint-Saëns, Piano Concert No. 5, Op. 103, mvt 2, mm The Nubian Melody section (m ) is less chromatic than the first section, kept in the tonality of G-major with emphasis on the dominant-to-dominant relationship. Due to its diatonically written accompaniment, the section may not evoke anything exotic for today s audience. Yet, this section could be also considered Orientalism simply because it was inspired by the native music of Egypt, one of the

34 22 Orient regions. 46 In the third section (m ), Saint-Saëns combines an exotic scale with gesture-based oriental elements. Example 1.4 Saint-Saëns, Piano Concert No. 5, Op. 103, mvt 2, mm On the piano, the pentatonic melody on the left hand (m.184-) is juxtaposed against the eighth-note repetitions that represent croaking frogs, while the violins mimic the chirping of crickets with repeating high C-sharp pitch on the muted strings Ralph P. Locke. "Orientalism." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, (accessed July 14, 2010). 47 Seung Woo Yoo, 8.

35 23 When the pentatonic melody comes to a sudden stop with fermata rest at m. 220, the preceding interlude forecasts the darker mood through accented appoggiaturas (Fsharp on the 1 st beat of m ), ascending chromatic passages (the last half of m ) and a thicker harmonic texture. Example 1.5 Saint-Saëns, Piano Concert No. 5, Op. 103, mvt 2, mm At measure 221, the meter is back from duplets to triplets. Abundant sforzando and accent signs are marked to lead into to the percussive cadenza. The tremolo that starts at m. 224 in the orchestra parts set up for a toccata-like cadenza to come on the piano part. At m. 225, the piano part improvisatorially hammers around the half-arabic, halfnatural minor scale that was initially presented in m. 5-6.

36 24 Example 1.6 Saint-Saëns, Piano Concert No. 5, Op. 103, mvt 2, mm After the multiple wandering key strikes within the middle register comes to a temporary stop at m. 230, the music continues with percussive actions, but this time,

37 25 Saint-Saëns includes unconventional overtones that are reminiscent of an Indonesian gamelan ensemble. 48 Example 1.7 Saint-Saëns, Piano Concert No. 5, Op. 103, mvt 2, mm. 230 At m. 230, the last measure of the toccata section in the cadenza, each melody is set to form major triad chords, resulting in a continuous parallel against the melody. More functional chord progressions start in m. 231, which is the last of ten measures in the cadenza section. Here, the piano part finally departs from parallelism. The chord progression of the first four measures (mm ) is a mixture of plagal cadence in the first half and the submediant relationship in the last half (B-flat Major to F-Major, then to D-major chords) with a tagged D Arabic scale at the end. 48 Seung Woo Yoo, 15.

38 26 Example 1.8 Saint-Saëns, Piano Concert No 5, Op. 103, mvt 2, mm. 233 The exact same chord progression repeats between mm The cadenza section concludes with another three-chord sequence, which could be considered an alternate plagal cadence. Example 1.9 Saint-Saëns, Piano Concert No 5, Op. 103, mvt 2, mm Above is the note-by-note transcription of mm in the piano part. The D bass note of the first chord and the A bass note of the last chord definitely outlines the Subdominant-to-Tonic relationship of a plagal cadence. The chord in the middle could be considered as a transitory point between the first and the last chords that are in the subdominant-to-tonic relation due to its bass line. The following reduction may help understand the harmonic movement between mm

39 27 Example 1.10 Reduction of Saint-Saëns Piano Concert No 5, Op. 103, mvt 2, mm The first chord of m. 1 in the reduction represents the chord in m. 239 in music, and the first chord in m. 2 of the reduction represents the chord in m The third beat of m. 1 in the reduction is the same chord as the one in m. 240 of the music. Notice that the resolution from B-flat to A (the soprano line) and the resolution from D to C-sharp (the tenor line) will result in an A augmented triad at the third beat of m. 1, although it is nonfunctional in the context of harmonic progression. As a result, the chord introduced in m. 240 should be considered a transitory event between the subdominant function of m. 239 to the tonic function of m To summarize, the compositional elements of Orientalism used in the second movement of Saint-Saëns Egyptian Concerto are: plagal cadences, parallel fifths, pentatonic scales, Arabic scale and a hybrid scale that combines the lower half of the Arabic scale and the upper half of a natural minor scale. An Arabic scale is also known as a Double Harmonic Major scale. There is also the minor scale counterpart to Double Harmonic Major, which goes by multiple names

40 28 such as: Double Harmonic Minor scale, Spansh Gypsy 49 scale, Gypsy Minor scale or Hungarian Minor scale. Both Arabic and Spanish Gypsy scales contains an augmented interval between sixth and seventh degrees of the scale. Other augmented intervals are found in the second and third scale degrees of the Arabic scale and between the third and the fourth of the Spanish Gypsy scale. 50 (See Example 1.11) Example 1.11 Arabic Scale (Above) vs. Spanish Gypsy Scale (Below) The work is entitled Africa, Fantasie for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 89 (1891), composed in the same year when the composer traveled to Egypt, is an excellent example of how the Spanish Gypsy scale can be found in yet another African-inspired work for piano and orchestra by Saint-Saëns. 51 The recurring motive of the A-section is based on a G Spanish Gypsy scale. 49 In this D.M.A. essay, I will put Spanish Gypsy under the quotation marks for the same reason I place Arabic scale in the quotation marks. This is to pay respect to the Gypsy musicians, who may not sing in the exact pitches that was outlined in our Western notational system. 50 Troy Stetina, The Ultimate Scale Book (Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation, 1999), Seng Wong Yoos, 8.

41 29 Example 1.12 Spanish Gypsy Scale in G Tonality Example 1.13 Saint-Saëns, Africa, Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 89, Principal Motive of the A-Section from Orchestral Reduction, mm. 2-4 Within the A-section (m. 1-77), Saint-Saëns inserted a virtuosic cadenza (m ) based on D-tonality scale that combines the lower half of an Arabic scale and the upper half of a D natural minor scale. Example 1.14 Saint-Saëns, Africa, Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 89, m. 40

42 30 This Half- Arabic /Half Natural-Minor scale degree is also used in the Concerto No. 5 in an A-tonality (See Example 1.2). Saint-Saëns seems to resort to this scale when elaborating Dominant Seventh (V7) tonalities with certain exoticism, which explains why the seventh scale degree is flattened. Another Oriental-evoking piece by Saint-Saëns is Caprice Arabe, Op. 96 for Two Pianos (1884). The composition begins with an A-major Chord in first inversion alone in the first piano (m.1-2), followed by the second piano confirming the tonality with an A-bass note. The first section (m.1 m. 21) generally stays in A-major, although the composer plays occasional tricks by inserting A-minor chords in the left-hand part of the first piano (m. 6 and m. 10). 52 The consistency of this composition lies in the use of the Lydian mode, another exotic scale capable of evoking Orientalism. 53 The Lydian mode originally derived from Gregorian chants, 54 and projects a mythic quality. It may be best associated with a whole tone scale for having the first four scale degrees in common. Example 1.15 Lydian Scale (Above) vs. Whole Tone Scale (Below) in C-tonality 52 The shifts between A-Major chord and A-Minor chord are not obvious, as the composer spells out the A-minor chord as B-sharp, E and A. 53 Locke, Harold S. Powers. "Lydian." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, (accessed April 26, 2011).

43 31 Lydian is the primary mode and tonality for the first section (m.1-21), and the subtle harmonic undulation is achieved by keeping the A-tonality while changing its mode from A-Lydian to an A Spanish Gypsy scale. Example 1.16 Saint-Saëns, Caprice Arabe for Two Pianos, Op. 96, m. 5-9 The motive is four measures in length, entering the first melody in the first melody in the middle of m. 5. Then, immediately in m. 6, C-sharp, a non-chord tone of the Lydian mode, is introduced to signal the change in mode to an A Spanish Gypsy scale, even though the Lydian mode immediately returns in m. 9. The relationship between m. 7 and m. 8 could be considered upward tertian relationship based on its quality (I-iii), although the E dominant note in the bass line in the second piano may suggest m. 8 is another process of building tension. The opening passage of Caprice Arabe demonstrates a way to build a subtle tension. In a more simplistic tonal composition, the leading tone of the V-chord serves as a tension builder.

44 32 Similarly, Saint-Saëns Caprice Arabe keeps the same tonality while changing the modes creating a certain tension followed by relaxation achieved in returning to the original mode. It is a witty yet effective in adding flavor to the musical content.

45 Chapter 4 ORIENTALISM AS REPRESENTED IN THE SELECTED PIANO WORKS BY CLAUDE DEBUSSY A prominent English scholar of French music, Roy Howat, claimed that, out of the many composers who were attracted by the Orient as subject matter, Debussy is the one who made much of it his own language, even identity. 55 Debussy and Hahn, despite being in the same social circle, never pursued an amicable relationship. 56 Even while keeping their distance, both composers were somewhat aware of the other s career. Hahn, in a public statement from 1890, praised highly Debussy s musical artistry in L'Apresmidi d'un faune. 57 Debussy s Exposure to Oriental Cultures Debussy s first exposure to oriental art and philosophy began at Mallarmé s Symbolist gatherings he frequented in 1887 upon his return to Paris from Rome. 58 At the Universal Exposition of 1889, he had his first experience in the theater of Annam (Vietnam) and the Javanese Gamelan orchestra (Indonesia), which is said to be a catalyst 55 Roy Howat, The Art of French Piano Music: Debussy, Ravel, Fauré, Chabrier (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2009), Gavoty, Ibid., François Lesure and Roy Howat. "Debussy, Claude." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, (accessed April 4, 2011). 33

46 34 in his artistic direction. 59 In 1890, Debussy was acquainted with Edmond Bailly, esoteric and oriental scholar, who took part in publishing and selling some of Debussy s music at his bookstore L Art Indépendeant. 60 In 1902, Debussy met Louis Laloy, an ethnomusicologist and music critic who eventually became Debussy s most trusted friend and encouraged his use of Oriental themes. 61 After the Universal Exposition in 1889, Debussy had another opportunity to listen to a Gamelan orchestra 11 years later in If his first listening of a Gamelan orchestra only served as catalyst, then his second listening in 1900 was the time of conception, as reflected on an abundant Gamelan-inspired figurations in Debussy s solo piano works composed in the following decade. Adapting the Gamelan on Piano Debussy was enchanted by the sound of the Gamelan orchestra, and attempted to re-create the sound on the piano, which is strongly reflected on his piano piece Pagodes. In comparison with traditional Western symphonic orchestras, Gamelan orchestras are known for their predominant use of percussion instruments with different pitch levels, including gongs, drums, chimes and marimbas. 63 Debussy, in his attempt to imitate the Gamelan sound, focused on the following two elements: (1) interplaying of 59 Ibid. 60 Howat, Ibid. 62 Ibid., "Gamelan." In The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 2nd ed. rev., edited by Michael Kennedy. Oxford Music Online, (accessed April 10, 2011).

47 35 the two different Gamelan tunings and (2) the effect created by varied sizes and pitchlevels of gongs that served different musical functions. 64 Predominant instruments in Gamelan orchestras are pitched percussions, and they are generally tuned in one of two temperaments, pelog and slendro. They could be roughly transcribed into Western notation as follows; 65 Example 2.1 Slendro (Above) and Pelog (Below) scales (approximate pitches) Slendro (Example 2.1, Above) is similar to the pentatonic scale. The process of using pentatonic scales, especially focusing on the intervals of fourths and minor thirds, to evoke Asia is not specific to Debussy, and has been used by other French composers such as Ravel, in his Asie from Shéhérazade, Laideronnet from Ma mere l Oye and the surreal Chinese teacup foxtrot in L Enfant et les sortilege. Emulating Pelog, which is closer to the Western whole-tone scale, was accomplished in Poulenc s Concerto for Two Pianos, composed right after the 1931 Universal Exposition Howat, Ibid. 66 Ibid., 112.

48 36 Of many Debussy s solo piano works, Pagodes from Estampes distinctively echoes the characteristics of Gamelan music. Common elements being applied throughout Debussy s Pagodes include pentatonic scales (an imitation of Slendro), arabesque figurations (an element of Locke s submerged exoticism) and an infrequent use of diatonic cadence that suggested non-western context. What makes Debussy s Pagodes exceptional, in Roy Howat s opinion, is the level in which the piano is being adapted to the practice of Gamelan orchestra, especially in its rhythmical and pitch-level imitations of varied gongs. 67 The first two measures of Pagodes suggests a simplified version of the rhythmical interaction between the large-plate gong and small-sized bells/gongs. 68 Example 2.2 Debussy, Pagodes (from Estamps), mm. 1-2 The third and fourth measures reflect a more accurate rhythmic interaction between the gong (a large single-disc) and the kempul (a set of hanging medium-sized gongs) as performed in a Javanese orchestra Ibid., 112; Locke, Howat, Ibid., 112.

49 37 Example 2.3 Debussy, Pagodes (from Estampes), mm. 3-4 Example 2.4 Debussy Pagodes (from Estampes), mm In Measures 11-12, the right-hand figures that contain varied syncopated rhythmic units (duplets, triplets and off-beats) evoke the typical gestures played on the bonang, a collection of small gongs placed horizontally onto strings fixed in a wooden frame Ibid., 112.

50 38 Example 2.5, Debussy, Pagodes (from Estampes), mm Pagodes develops into fast-moving high voices layered against a progressively slower motion of the lower registers. Finally, it ends with a mumbling low register note, mimicking the Gamelan performance practice of hitting the large-plate gong at the end of a piece. 71 Roy Howat advised that, in general, most of the right-hand figurations in Pagodes are to be treated less like the concept of Western phrasing of melodies and more like a quieter, impassive decorative arabesque, sharing attention with the texture below and beyond. 72 Other piano works of Debussy that demonstrate strong Gamelanrelated figuration include Reflets dans l eau (from Images I) and Cloches à travers les feuilles (from Images II) Ibid., Ibid., Ibid., 116.

51 39 Influence from Indian Music Debussy s documented exposure with Indian music does not appear until May of 1913 when Indian spiritual leader Inayat Khan, who had been performing in Europe and America with his family ensemble, was introduced to Debussy through their mutual pianist friend, Walter Rummel. 74 Prior to meeting Khan and his family members, Debussy had already been somewhat knowledgeable of Indian music. 75 Elisabeth de Jong-Keesing, author of Inayat Khan s biography, points out that m. 12 to 14 in "Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut" (1907) by Debussy reflects on a style of an authentic Indian music. 76 Example 2.6 Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut (from Images 2), mm Ibid., Ibid., Andrew Gerstle and Anthony Milner, Recovering the Orient: Artists, Scholars, Appropriations (Chur [Switzerland]: Harwood Academic Publishers, 1994), 57; Elisabeth de Jong-Keesing, Inayat Khan, A biography (The Hague [Netherlands]:Postbus, 1975), 121.

52 40 Musicologist Howat stood against Jong-Keesing s statement, specifying more Indian style in Debussy s language by providing two examples of very similar melodic figures that evoke different Asian nationalities, (Japanese-inspired Boudda from Debussy s compositional sketch and Chinese-evoking Le paon [The Peacock] from the scene Histoires naturelles), which leads to the conclusion that a simple use of pentatonic scale will not suffice for a passage to be Indian, but a more contextual gesture of droning accompaniment directly stems from Indian raga music. Often Debussy s adaptation of drones departs from a traditional trilling of the broken triads or open fifths due to the nonconventional harmonic function he uses, and extends to a M/m-second interval as seen in the left-hand figures of Des pas sur la neige. 77 Example 2.7, Debussy, Des pas sur la neige (from Préludes I), mm. 1-3 Years after Debussy met Inayat Khan in 1913, his youngest brother Musharaff Khan wrote that soon after Debussy listened to their music performed, he responded on the piano and did an impression of their performance on the keyboard. 78 The Dutch musician Hakiem van Lohuzen, who worked with Musharaff Khan, stated musical echoes 77 Howat, Ibid., 119.

53 41 of Inayat Khahn s music could be found in Debussy s Berceuse héroïque in 1914 or even in parts of La boîte à joujoux, composed toward the end of The friendship between Debussy, Inayat and Musharaff Khan continued, with speculation that the two brothers helped Debussy emerge from his creative crisis between 1913 and Debussy s two-piano suite, En blac et noir, published in 1915 is considered to have the influence of Indian tampura, a 4-6 stringed fretless instrument. 80 Miscellaneous Influence from the Oriental Arts Debussy was both directly and indirectly influenced by the Oriental arts; he owned many art objects from many different countries. At the same time, he was also responsive to French paintings that were influenced by the techniques of the Oriental visual arts. Debussy was knowledgeable of many Oriental artifacts, to which the names of some were adapted into the titles of his piano works. 81 His love of Egyptian arts is reflected on his tenth prelude from Book II entitled Canope. The title is confusing in English, as it generally represents a fabric that provides shades, but here, it refers to an Egyptian canopic jar, whose lid is carved into a shape of either human or animal head. 82 Like many French painters of his time, Debussy was fascinated by estampes, directly translated in English as art prints, particularly referring to the popular Japanese woodcut prints containing subtle colors that were made at the time. The word was 79 Ibid. 80 Ibid., Ibid, ), E. Robert Schmitz, The Piano Works of Claude Debussy (Westport, Conn.; Greenwood Press:

54 42 borrowed to entitle Debussy s three-movement suit (Estampes) with each movement depicting woodprint-worthy images, including tiered towers (Pagodes), Arabic nomads in Spain (Evening in Granada) and violent rainstorms (Garden in the Rain), respectively. 83 Musicologist Roy Howat makes direct comparisons between Chinese pen-andbrush technique of ink drawings and Debussy s approach to piano writing; each subtle attack on the keyboard representing a pen stroke on the calligraphy paper. Then the clarity of lines in the pen stroke are washed over by a damp brush or sostenuto pedaling in the piano. 84 In addition to the influences directly from Oriental art, Debussy was also influenced by French Impressionist paintings that were influenced by Oriental art. Water reflection, one of the common underlying themes used in many Impressionist paintings, is represented in Monet s Water Lillies, and Seine at Giverny. Debussy re-created the beauty of horizontal symmetry in his music, both visually and aurally. Example 2.8, Debussy Reflets dans l eau (from Images I), mm Howat, Ibid., 121.

55 43 Visually, the score is approximately separated by the middle C, where the trebleclef staff represents the object above the water, and the bass clef represents its reflection on the water. Debussy s use of the Double Harmonic Scale Debussy is more known for his use of whole-tone and pentatonic scales. He did use the Double Harmonic scale in his piano works, eminently heard in Sérénade interrompue. 85 In his Sérénade interrompue, the B-flat Spanish Gypsy scale is used over the percussive perfect-fifth accompaniment figure. Example 2.9, Debussy Sérénade interrompue (from Préludes I), mm Schmitz, 28.

56 Chapter 5 REYNALDO HAHN, HIS FAMILY AND HIS CAREER Reynaldo Hahn ( ) was born in Caracas, Venezuela to Carlos Hahn- Dellevie, a Jewish businessman from Hamburg, Germany, and Elena Maria Echenagucia- Ellis, a woman of Spanish descent whose family had been established in Venezuela since the 18 th century. Carlos Hahn immigrated to Caracas in the 1840s, and soon rose to wealth through his mercantile business. The family bore twelve children: five sons, five daughters and the other two resulting in infantile deaths. Reynaldo was the youngest of all. 86 Carlos Hahn became a close friend of Venezuelan President Antonio Guzmán- Blanco, who presided in the office between 1870 and 1877, and served as a financial advisor for the president. 87 When the Hahn family left Venezuela in 1878, a year after Guzmán-Blanco s resignation from the office, the former president was able to extend his influence to Paris as Hahn s family settled down in the new city. Reynaldo was merely three years old. In the same year, the family settled down in Paris, France in a good neighborhood of the 86 Bernard Gavoty, Reynaldo Hahn, Le Musicien de La Belle Epoque (Paris: Buchet Chastel, 1997), 19; Mario Milanca Guzmán, Reynaldo Hahn, Caraqueño: Contribución a La Biografía Caraqueña de Reynaldo Hahn Echenagucia (Caracas: Academia Nacional de la Historia, 1989), 19; Patrick O Connor. "Hahn, Reynaldo." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, subscriber/article/grove/music/12169 (accessed December 26, 2010). 87 Milanca,

57 45 Champs-Élysée. 88 The future composer had already displayed his inclination to music in Caracas, and once the family settled well enough in Paris, his father Carlos took his 6- year-old son to Opéra-Comique every night, where Reynaldo rode on his father s shoulder to eagerly catch glimpses of the show. He made his debut in France at a musical soirée hosted by the Princess Mathilde, niece of Napoleon the First and cousin of Napoleon the Third. 89 In October 1885, Hahn, at age ten, was admitted to Paris Conservatoire where he studied solfège with Lucien Grandjany, harmony with Albert Lavignac and Theodore Dubois, piano with Emil Descombes and composition with Jules Massenet. 90 Under the tutelage of Emil Descombes, Hahn was among the elite class of the then up-and-coming composer Maurice Ravel as well as virtuosos such as Alfred Cortot and Eduardo Risler. Hahn s love for composition was nurtured by Jules Massenet, who significantly influenced young Reynaldo s musical development including his penchant for vocal music. 91 Hahn initially became acquainted with Saint-Saëns through their mutual friend Massenet, and he began studying privately with Saint-Saëns in Hahn also wrote a journal entry about him after discussing a wide range of subjects with Saint-Saëns. 93 He 88 Milanca, Gavoty, 19, 26; Gusman, 81; O Connor, Grove Music Online. 90 Gavoty, 36; O Connor, Grove Music Online. 91 Debra Lea Spurgeon, A Study of the Solo Vocal Works of Reynaldo Hahn with Analysis of Selected Melodies, (D.M.A. Essay;University of Oklahoma, 1988), James Harding, Saint-Saëns and his Circle (London: Chapman & Hall, 1965), Reynaldo Hahn, Notes: Journal d un Musicien (Paris: Librarie Plan, 1933), 28.

58 46 also worked for Saint-Saëns as an editor for the complete works of Rameau. 94 According to Stephen Studd, the author of Saint-Saëns, a Critical Biography, Saint-Saëns was certainly fond of the company of talented and personable young men, many of whom were glad to be associated with his prestige and influence, and among those with whom he formed close relations were his one-time pupil Reynaldo Hahn. 95 Following Massenet s footsteps, Hahn s compositions were predominantly music for voice and piano, and he earned his early recognition by a work in this genre. Si mes vers avaient des ailes! [If my verses have wings] of 1888 became a song of choice for salon performance. 96 During , Hahn worked on his song cycle, Chansons grises, which would later lead to his long-term relationship with the publisher Henri Heugel. The manuscripts for his early works for piano were destined to be unduly neglected due to his success in the vocal genre. What remains of this category consists of chamber pieces for four-hands and/or two-pianos. Such examples include Scherzo lent (1891) and Caprice mélancolique (1897). Many of his earliest solo-piano works have been lost, except L inspiration (1883), which was published by an unidenfieid publisher, and Juvenilia: Petites pieces pour piano ( ) and Au conte de lune, conte en musique (1892), both of which were published through Heugel Brian Rees, Camille Saint-Saëns, A Life (London: Chatto & Windus, 1999, Stephen Studd, Saint-Saëns, a Critical Biography (London: Cynus Arts, 1999), O Connor; Thea Sikora Engelson, The Melodies of Reynaldo Hahn, (Ph.D Essay, University of Illinois, 2006), Sortable List of Works by Reynaldo Hahn International Music Score Library Project Petrucci Music Library, (accessed December 3, 2011).

59 47 Considered to be his first mature piano composition, Portraits de peintres, d après Marcel Proust (1894), is a set of four piano pieces with narrations in between, and is dedicated to his close friend and poet, Marcel Proust. Fashioned as a musical portrait, this four-movement composition depicts important society people of the time: Albert Cuyp, Paulus Potter, Anton Van Dyck and Jean Antoine Watteau in order of composition. His next publication was Première Valses (1898), collection of 10 waltzes and one piece that serves as precursor to the set. Next follows Rossignol Éperdu ( ), 53 character pieces grouped into four-themed series. Hahn s first attempt to write in a larger form resulted in Sonatine in C-Major (1907), a three-movement work based on fast-slowfast movement schemes with the second movement being a theme and variations. 98 It is unknown if Hahn s Sonatine was influenced by that of Ravel, which was written between 1903 and 1905 and was premiered in Both sonatines contain neo-classical components, although Ravel s sonatine is richer in harmonic language while Hahn s sonatine is characteristically more Mozartian. In 1909, Hahn made the decision to call France his home, and began his legal process of becoming a naturalized French citizen. 100 The following year, Hahn s piano work Thème varié sur le Nom de Haydn (Variations on the name of Haydn) was featured in the January 15 th, 1910 edition of Revue de la Société Internationale de Musique (The Journal of International Music Society). 101 Paying homage to Haydn was no new 98 Reynaldo Hahn, Sonatina en ut majeur, (Paris: Heugel & Co, 1907), John Spier, Sonatine, Maurice Ravel Net. (Accessed February 19, 2012). 100 Gavoty, Reynaldo Hahn Thème Varié par Reynaldo Hahn, Revue Musicale S.I.M (Paris: Société Internationale de Musique, 1910), 7-10.

60 48 practice, in fact, the same magazine included other similar works by composers such as Claude Debussy, Paul Dukas, Vincent d Indy and Maurice Ravel, whose works paying homage to Haydn were also featured in the same magazine. The melodies of aforementioned pieces are all based on pitch-levels H-A-Y-D-N (si-la-ré-ré-sol), but Hahn is the only one who imitated Haydn s style of composition. As a result, Hahn s Thème varié sur le Nom de Haydn is full of early Classicism, characterized by simple tonal harmony and a clear structure. The rest of the composers who paid homage to Haydn did not go as far as stylistic imitation in their homage pieces. Debussy and Ravel especially took more individualistic approaches in their style of composition while still managed to earnestly incorporate the name of the honoree as pitches in their motives. 102 In 1912, he was granted a French citizenship, and began his military training in July Two years later, he finished composing his new piano piece, Les Jeunes Lauriers, marche militaire. In contrast to previous two works that are written in a lighthearted early Classicism, this composition reflected Hahn s responsibility as a composer to relate to the sentiments of the time to come, the First World War. 104 On August 1, 1914, Hahn was called to active military duty, which took him out of Paris. Initially, he was stationed in the rural areas of France, but eventually he received an order to transfer to Mauritius, an island nation off the southeast coast of Africa, where he remained during the remainder of the year. In the Spring of 1915, he was finally called 102 Jean-Christophe Etienne, Thème varié sur le nom de Haydn (1910), Reynaldo-Hahn.Website. (accessed March 5, 2009). 103 Engelson, Gavoty, 223. Jean-Christophe Etienne, Les Jeunes Lauriers, marche militaire(1915), Reynaldo Hahn Website.

61 49 back to northern French city, Clermont-en-Argonne, where he wrote a song cycle Five Little Songs. 105 His life as a French military personnel continued for the next two years. In 1917, he was promoted to corporal, and a concert honoring his musical works was held in Paris in the same year. In 1918, he returned to Paris when he was assigned to work at the Ministry of War 106 Upon returning to Paris in 1918, he realized the salon culture, his former social circle and an outlet to his vocal music, no longer existed. The musical trend had changed, yet Hahn remained a defender of Romanticism despite the criticism from the avant-garde artists. Realizing that he would need to change the direction in his career to maintain his popularity, he shifted focus on writing opera, operetta and musical comedy and stopped writing for piano. This explains the gap in his output for piano pieces between 1916 to Hahn s effort to switch his gears to focus on operatic and vocal arenas seemed successful. In 1919, he was appointed as the winter director of the opera in Cannes, where he subsequently premiered his opera Nausicca, the work he had written during the war. 108 In 1920, he prepared his lectures on singing for a publication Du Chant, and he conducted the premiere of La Colombe de Bouddah, a Japanese lyric in one act based on a poem by Andre Alexander. A continuous series of his vocal compositions, Deuixiéme volume de vingt melodies was published in 1921, and had a successful premiere of his 105 Ibid., Ibid., Ibid., Ibid., 34.

62 50 operetta Ciboulette in April of Hahn also collaborated with playwright Sacha Guitry, and they co-produced Mozart, a musical comedy that portrays the adolescent Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The premiere of Mozart in Paris was a popular success, and the following year, Guitry took the production to the U.S.. The New York premiere of Mozart took place at Chanin s Fourty-sixth Street Theatre in December 1926, and received a favorable review. 110 In the same year, Hahn continued to work for the stage and produced three stage productions: La reine de Sheba, Un revue, and L temps d aimer. His first solo piano works after the First World War were Two Etudes, published in Unfortunately, Two Etudes became his last solo piano composition, as he became more active in composing for theater stage. 111 In the late 1920s, he conceived his first and only piano concerto and eventually the music was published in Then during the 1930s, Hahn s output was principally for the stage. His two operettas, Brummel and Malvina, had their premieres in 1931 and 1935 respectively. In addition to his collaborations with Guitry for musical comedy O mon bel inconnu, which premiered in In 1935, he returned to Paris Opéra to premiere his more serious and more upscale opera, Le Marchand de Venise, a production that features Mozartean gracefulness and French harmony and coloration. He continued to write for the Paris Opéra, which resulted in a premiere of Shakespeare s Beaucoup de 109 Ibid J. Brook Atkinson, The Play: Guitry et Femme, review of Mozart, a comedy by Sacha Guitry with music by Reynaldo Hahn, Chanin s Forty-sixth Street Theatre, The New York Times, 28 December The music for Deux Etudes is not available in the United States; However, According to Reynaldo Hahn Website, the first study is similar to Chopin Etude Op. 10 No. 1 in C-Major, with righthand purely based on three-octave arpeggios. The left-hand figure moves in contrary motion with emphasis of three beats per measure creates a sense of superimposed rhythms. The second étude is a less technical but more interpretive study that contains aria-style melody, similar to the concept of Chopin Etude, Op. 10 No. 3 in E-flat Major. 112 O Connor, Grove Music Dictionary.

63 51 bruit pour rien (Much Ado about Nothing) in 1936, and Aux bosquets d Idalie After France surrendered to Germany on June 22, 1940, Germany gained control of the northern part of France, while its southern counterpart was left under French control. Hahn, being Jewish by patrilineal heritage, left Paris for southern France, and continued to do radio shows and lectures on musical subjects. 114 One of Reynaldo Hahn s sisters, Olga, lived in Hamburg, Germany after marrying a German Jew. Tragically, Olga, her husband and her kids were killed in a gas chamber. In November 1942, he exiled to Monaco, a country whose neutrality was respected by the Axis force. 115 When the war ended in 1945, the composer returned to Paris and soon became a musical celebrity. In the same year, he was appointed director of the Paris Opéra, where he conducted revival of Méhul s Joseph the following year. 116 While conducting a performance of Die Zauberflöte at Paris Opéra, Hahn became ill during the first act. 117 Although he managed to conduct the entire production, he immediately lost consciousness after the performance in his dressing room. A doctor diagnosed with a cerebral tumor Engleson, Ibid., Ibid., O Connor, Grove Music Dictionary Online; Etienne, chronologie, Reynaldo-Hahn.Website. 117 Engelson, Ibid.

64 52 He died in his apartment on January 28 th, On the next day, Le Figaro featured Hahn s obituary on its front page. 119 His funeral was held at the Madeleine Church in Paris on February 3, where musicians from the Paris Opera performed Fauré s Requiem and the De Profundis from Hahn s opera La Carmélite. 120 Salon Culture and Belle-Époque Reynaldo Hahn s music is rooted in the salon tradition that was culturally fueled by the Belle-Époque. Belle-Époque is generally perceived to have begun in 1885, the year known for the unfortunate passing of a romantic poet, Victor Hugo. 121 The politics during the Belle-Époque was stable, allowing Parisian arts to develop. Two Universal Expositions and the building of the Eiffel Tower inspired Parisian performers to be more productive and creative. Especially in performing arts, Paris was filled with performance venues that were catered to different social classes: music halls and café in the Montmartre area served the working classes, while opera and the salons were for upper classes. 122 While salons being primarily a formalized social setting catered to aristocrats in which music performance functioned as an evening activity preceded by a dinner, cafés and their open atmosphere, allowed more artistic experimentation, and became a nest for new schools of thought, including symbolism, impressionism, cubism and primitivism. 119 Reynaldo Hahn est mort, Le Figaro, January 29, Les obsèques de Reynaldo Hahn auront lieu lundi, Le Figaro, January 31, Spurgeon, Ibid.

65 53 As the time progressed, performers gradually migrated from salons to café for artistic freedom. 123 For Hahn, salons were the main performance venues for his vocal works Mélodies. He understood the refinement of musical quality expected of the venue and appreciated the settings. He made the best of the salon culture for his artistic merit: Striving for the musical refinement to suit and not to succumbing to let flattery influence his work. 123 Ibid.

66 Chapter 6 ANALYSIS ON REYNALDO HAHN S ORIENT SERIES (FROM LE ROSSIGNOL ÉPERDU) This chapter will explore analysis on Reynaldo Hahn s compositional methods, particularly focusing on his adaptation of Orientalism by reviewing and analyzing his piano series Le Orient. Le Orient is one of the four series of Le Rossignol éperdu, poemes (Bewildered Nightingale, Poems), a collection of piano pieces Hahn composed between 1899 and Hahn has always suffered from being labeled as musicien de salon (living room musician) for the simplicity of his compositions, and his Le Rossignol more or less follows its prototype. 124 (See Figure 4-1) Orient is his first piano work that contains an influence of impressionism similar to Gabriel Dupont. 125 Written in an eleven-year span, Le Rossignol éperdu, poèmes, are divided into four series as indicated in Figure Etienne, Reynaldo Hahn Website. 125 Jean Etienne Christopher concludes that, in this collection (Rossignol Éperdu), there is an influence of Impressionism. Hahn s impressionism is not in the style of Debussy but similar to another French composer, Gabriel Dupont ( ). The similarity could be drawn in the style of Dupont s The House in the Dune [La maison dans le dunes], a cycle of 10 pieces for piano that was composed between 1908 and

67 55 Figure 4-1 Chronology of Reynaldo Hahn s Solo Piano Compositions 1883 L Inspiration, valse pour piano Juvénilia, petites pieces pour piano 1892 Au clair de lune, conte en musique 1894 Portraits de peintres, pieces pour piano d après les poèmes de Marcel Proust 1898 Premières Valses Le Rossignol éperdu, poèmes 1907 Sonatine et ut majeur 1910 Thème Varié sur le nom de Haydn 1912 Préface en musique pour La Création du Monde 1915 Les Jeunes Lauriers, marche militaire 1927 Deux Etudes pour le piano

68 56 Figure 4-2 Index of Rossignol éperdu, poèmes Séries I: [Untitled] Séries II: Orient Séries III: Carnet de voyage 1. Frontispice 31. En Caïque 37. L Ange Verrier 2. Andromède résignée 32. Narghilé 38. Le Jardin de Pétrarque 3. Douloureuse reverie 33. Les Chiens de Galata 39. La Nativité dans un bois de sapins 34. Rêverie nocturne sur 40. Fauness dansante 4. Le Bouquet de le Bosphore 41. Les Noces du Duc de Pensées 35. La Rose de Blida Joyeuse 5. Soleil d automne 36. L Oasis (Biskra) 42. Le Petit Mail 6. Gretchen 43. Les Pages d Elisabeth 7. Les Deux Echarpes 44. La Jeunesse et l Eté 8. Liebe! Liebe! 45. Vieux Bahuts (Musée 9. Eros cache dans les d Orléans) bois 10. La Fausse Indifférence 11. Chanson de Midi 12. Antiochus 13. Never More 14. Portrait 15. L fant au Perroquet 16. Les Rêveries du Prince Eglantine 17. Ivress 18. L Arome supreme 19. Berceuse féroce 20. Passante 21. La Danse de l Amour et de l Ennui 22. Ouranos 23. Les Héliotropes du Clos-André 24. Effet de Nuit sur la Seine 25. Per I piccoli canali 26. Mirage 27. La Danse de l Amour et du Danger 28. Matinée parisienne 29. Chérubin tragique 30. Les Chênes enlacés Séries IV: Versailles 46. Hommage à Martius 47. La Reine au Jardin 48. Le Réveil de Flore 49. Le Banc songeur 50. La Fête de Terpsichore 51. Adieux au soir tombant 52. Hivernale 53. Le Pélerinage inutile

69 57 Hahn s Exposure to Oriental Cultures The titles of six pieces in his Orient series contain references only from North Africa and the Middle East, which could be attributed to his limited travel experience outside Europe and unrecorded cultural exposures from the Far East. Two authoritative biographies of Reynaldo Hahn confirm his traveling experience abroad in several major Western and Eastern European countries (Italy, Germany, England, Spain, Austria, Romania) in addition to countries in North Africa (Algeria and Egypt). 126 According to Bendahan, Hahn was fascinated by the music of the muezzin and the exotic dances in Algeria during his stay 127 Hahn also was stationed at Vaquios, a former French territory located off the East coast of Africa as part of his military duty. Hahn s exposure to the Oriental culture within France is unknown. His vocal work, Chanson d automne (1891), appeared in the program for 1900 Universal Exposition. However, his listening experience of ensembles from other nations is unrecorded, and therefore, unknown. 128 Hahn s Orientalism, by observing six pieces from his Orient series, can be determined to resemble that by 19 th -Century composers Felician David, Saint-Saëns and Gabriel Fauré. Unlike audiences of the late 20 th and the 21 st century might expect, Hahn s concept of Orient does not evoke the Far East, but rather, North Africa and the Middle East. 126 Gavoty, ; Bendahan, Bendahan, Etienne, Reynaldo Hahn Website.

70 58 Analysis of Oriental gestures in Hahn s Séries 2: Orient Orientalism in music is quite formulaic. As introduced in the first chapter, the investigation of Hahn s Séries 2: Orient will be examined from the following analytical aspects; (1) Representation of the Orient each of the six pieces in the Séries Deux Orient has a programmatic title. I will investigate the correlation of each title to the Orient in general or a specific Oriental culture. (2) Compositional Procedures that evoke exoticism once the title is confirmed with its relation to the Orient, I will then investigate the presence of exotic materials in the compositional contents. This will include identification of the exotic scales (whole-tone, octatonic, pentatonic), arabesque-figures, and less diatonic tonal harmonies. (3) Hahn s Direct Transcultural Experience Investigation of Hahn s life and recognition of his direct experience to the live performance of the Orient, which has been already discussed in a prior subchapter. 31. En Caïque In Earl Wild s recording, the title is translated as In a caïque [longboat]. 129 The origin of a French word caïque is traced back to kayik in Turkish, and it refers to a traditional fishing boat normally found off the coast of Turkey and Greece. 130 It is 129 Earl Wild, Reynaldo Hahn - Le Rossignol Eperdu, Ivory Classics, 2001, (Columbus, OH). 130 Caïque, Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam-Webster Online Retrieved

71 59 loosely based on a monothematic ternary structure (ABA-coda) where B explores multiple key areas. The principal tonality is in F-major, and consists of the ostinato-figure below. Example 3.1 Hahn, En Caqui, mm. 1-3, Ostinato Figure Here, the ostinato figure could be reminiscent of the boatman s strokes. 131 The melodic simplicity of En Caqui (m. 4-) is similar to Offenbach s Barcarolle from Tales of Hoffman, which was later arranged as a piano solo work by Moszkowski. While the melody is relatively plain, the ostinato pattern contains augmented seconds (e.g. F G# in F-major chord figures) 132 to evoke an exotic effect. 131 Another famous example that portrays a boatman s strokes is the left-hand accompaniment figure of Chopin s Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, Op Etienne. Reynaldo Hahn Website.

72 60 Figure 4.3 Structural Outline of En Caïque Introduction (mm. 1-4) F-Major, a repeated ostinato figure Section A (mm. 5-19) F-Major Statement of the Theme (mm. 5-8) Repetition of the Theme (mm. 9-12) Interlude (mm. 13-5) A brief transitory three-measure passage Re-statement of the Theme (mm ) Section B (mm ) Development with multiple key areas Development based on the rhythmic figure of Ostinato (mm ) (B-flat Major, A-flat Major) (Development based on the rhythmic figure of the Theme (mm ) (F Minor, A Minor, C-Major) Development based on the melodic contour of the Theme (mm ) (E-flat Major) Return of Section A (mm ) Re-introduction of the theme in the original key (mm ) Interlude with rhythmic augmentation (mm ) Coda (mm ) Statement of the Theme in the original key (mm ) Transitory passage (mm ) Canonic closing based on ostinato figure with a rhythmic retardation (mm.76-87)

73 Narghilé The title refers to a Turkish waterpipe, a portable smoking device originated in the former Ottoman Empire. 133 Structurally, the piece is based on A-B-A format, with A- sections prominently more modal than the B section. The Orientalism is expressed through an ambiguous tonality of the piece. The first A section (m. 1-23) presents a recitative-style melodic line in an arabesque figure based on interchanging quintuplets and triplets. The first two measures give an impression of D Dorian mode, but in fact, it is based on A-minor tonality, which is confirmed with an appearance of G-sharp note as leading tone on the 3 rd measure. Example 3.2 Hahn, Narghilé, D Doriant impression with A-minor tonality, mm.1-4 In measure 5 it restates the main theme in with B half-diminished (or Locrian natural-2) tonality with conflicting A-natural and A-sharp. 134 Then, in measure 7, it introduced double dominant (V/V) of B-tonality, moving onto the next measure with a splash of D Major 7th chord (III7 in B-tonality). 133 "narghile, n.". OED Online. December Oxford University Press. (accessed December 16, 2011). 134 In my analysis, the A-sharp note is dismissed as non-chord tone.

74 62 Example 3.3 Hahn, Narghilé, mm. 5-8 The tonality of A comes back in Measure 9 with plagal cadence (iv - i). The lowest note repeats A (=la) to confirm its tonal center while the right hand continues to fragmental development of the original arabesque figure between m The next two measures (m ) are in F-sharp tonality, which is in a chromatic submediant relationship with the previous A-tonality. In m. 17, it emphasizes the submediant relationship between F-sharp and A, then m , the chromaticism between F-natural and F-natural are highlighted in the bass line.

75 63 Example 3.4 Hahn, Narghilé, mm The B-Section (m ), in contrast to the prior section, is based on a steady rhythmic cell with decorative triplets. In measure 23 found an interesting musical marking occidentalement (literally translated as occidentally, In a Westernized manners) and the tonality becomes diatonic in its F-major tonality until the un peu plus timbre figuration returns in measure 31. Example 3.5 Hahn, Narghilé, occidentalement, m. 23 The thematic returns of the A-section starts on measure 31 although its tonal return will not take place until the m.37, where the first three measures of the piece are reintroduced with an added ornamentation.

76 Les Chiens de Galata (Effet de nuit sur la Corne d Or) The title and the subtitle suggest a geographical tie specific to Turkey. Galata is a neighborhood in Instanbul, the biggest city in Turkey, and Corne d Or, or the Golden Horn, refers to a harbor located at the inlet of Bosphorus Strait. Both nocturnal and Turkish themes in the title will continue to the next piece, which will be further discussed in the next sub-chapter. The composition is largely divided into two sections, with both remaining in a key of F-sharp Major. The A-section (m. 3-11) starts with three-measure long chromatic opening passage in the low register of the piano (m. 1-3). At the conclusion of the introduction at measure 3, the two-measure phrase was introduced, which functions as cell throughout the first section (m. 4-11). Example 3.6 Hahn, Les Chiens de Galata, Two-measure Phrase, mm. 4-5 The melodic figure of the cell is rhythmically consistent and is constructed in chromatic waving around the dominant note (C-sharp) and the borrowed minor sixth degree (D) of the F-sharp tonality. The supporting chord progression of the cell is quite

77 65 unique, highlighting the tritone relations from F-sharp to C on the bass line, tonality of which could be concluded as Orientalism in this composition. The improvisatory obbligato over the two-measure cell starts m.8. Then, the second section, marked chanté, provides more moving obbligato in the higher register over supporting F-sharp Major chord with alternating dominant to borrowed sixth movement. Example 3.7 Hahn, Les Chiens de Galata, Two-measure Phrase, mm Another Orientalism influence is seen in a use of Mixolydian sclae degree in the melodic figure of m , highlighting E-natural in F-major tonality. Example 3.8 Hahn, Les Chiens de Galata, Mixolydian usage, mm

78 66 An arabesque figure (the middle stave) highlights the augmented second degree (Bflat to C-sharp) in the middle of m. 18, evoking Arabic scale. Another Orientalism phenomenon found particularly between m is a tritone link, often adopted by Russian composers of the time. 135 The higher note in the lowest stave indicates G- natural note (m. 18) going to D-flat note (m.19), and the top stave is a constant respelling of Tritone (E and B-flat, E and A-sharp). Example 3.9 Hahn, Narghilé, Arabic Scale and Tritone Link, mm On m. 20, the accompanying pattern at m. 12 is now modified by replacing the modally borrowed augmented sixth chord with a major sixth chord, resulting in a more conventional harmony in the key of F-major. 135 Richard Taruskin, Music in the Late Twentieth Century: The Oxford History of Western Music (New York: Oxford University Press, USA, 2009), 208.

79 67 Example 3.10 Hahn, Les Chiens de Galata, m Rêverie nocturne sur le Bosphore The night theme and the Turkish theme continue from the previous composition into this Rêverie nocturne sur le Bosphore (Nocturnal dream about the Bosphorus). The Bosphorus, also known as Istanbul Strait, is a waterway located in Turkey, and it divides Europe from the East. The Bosophorus maintains a close tie with the French for its economic development, and the place is best known for its scenic beauty. 136 Musicologist Jean-Christopher Etienne claims that Rêverie is less successful in evoking exotic images due to overly conventional melody that is introduced in the 136 Message from the President, Institut-Bosphore contentdetail.php?id=11 (Accessed on January 29, 2012).

80 68 beginning and recurring at the end in addition to a laborious chromatic interlude in the middle. 137 The Oriental evocation is portrayed through use of chromatic mediant (iii) and chromatic submediant (vi). This is first shown in the chord progression from B-flat Minor (i) sustained during the first three measures going to submediant G-flat Minor (flat-vi). Example 3.11 Hahn, Rêverie nocturne sur le Bosphore, mm. 1-4 The most prominent use of chromatic mediant and submediants are seen between m 9 -m.11, where the passage sequences from F dominant seventh, A minor, F dominant seventh, then to B Major chords. Tonal implication the harmony could be described as F dominant chord being a re-spelled German 6 th chord in A-minor, which legitimizes the motion from F dominant seventh A-minor chord. However, it is less probable to progress from A-minor chord to its German 6 th chord, giving this passage without resolution. 137 Etienne, Reynaldo Hahn Website.

81 69 Example 3.12 Hahn, Rêverie nocturne sur le Bosphore, mm La Rose de Blida (Ouarda) The subtitle Ouarda is an Arabic female first name, which signifies Rose. The title La Rose de Blida (The Rose from Blida), is set in the Algerian city of Blida, which is known by the French for its production of beautiful roses. The melody stays in a comfortable middle register, accompanied by Left-hand drone. Example 3.13 Hahn, La Rose de Blida (Ouarda), mm. 1-2

82 70 The piece follows a Rondo form (ABACA) structure with the tonal center of E (mi). The entire Section A is based on droning with an open-fifth with E and B, and the tonality is clarified with G-sharp note included in a continuous quasi-arabesque melody on RH. In addition to arabesque-like melody on the RH, another exotic phenomenon is seen in an uncommon meter indication and its melodic division. The indicated time signature is set in 6/4, and the bracketed time signature (5/4 5/4) indicates the melodic division that goes over two measures. Example 3.14 Hahn, Motive from La Rose de Blida (Ouarda), transcribed in 5/4 meter, mm. 1-2 Another highlighted compositional technique, although unrelated to Orientalism, is textural inversion, where the movement is handed over from one voice to another. In the A-section, a movement is handed over from a soprano to an alto voices after a soprano completes one-and-a-half-measure of main motive. in this piece, the soprano voice introduces the motive in the first half of the measure phrase is often handed over from a soprano to an alto voices toward the end of the measure.

83 71 Example 3.15 Hahn, La Rose de Blida (Ouarda), textural inversion in Section A, m. 2 In the B section, a soprano motive in the first half of the measure is canonically imitated an octave lower in the alto voice during the last half of the measure. Example 3.16, Hahn, La Rose de Blida (Ouarda), textural inversion in Section B, m. 5 In the last A-section, the main motive and the left-hand drone are in the same key and in the same register; the only difference is an added bell sound (B4)